Federal Minister for Revenue and Financial Services / Assistant Treasurer
In 2018, eyes will turn to Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer and the Turnbull Government when they respond to the final report of the ASIC Enforcement Review Taskforce. That taskforce, announced in late 2016, was charged with assessing the adequacy of ASIC’s enforcement regime, and has since released eight position papers. Those papers canvassed numerous issues, including the strengthening of penalties for corporate and fi nancial sector misconduct. In its last paper in November, the taskforce proposed introducing a directions power that would allow ASIC to take action to intervene and direct licensees for the purpose of preventing harm before it occurs.
Another focus for the Treasury right now is the next phase of the ASIC industry funding model, described as the introduction of ASIC fees-for-service and involving the regulator recovering costs directly attributable to a single, identifiable entity. It will also closely follow the $7.9m ACCC inquiry designed to provide an in-depth understanding of northern Australia’s insurance market. On top of all that, there’s now the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. What will come out of the inquiry pertaining to general insurance?
